Nicholas J. Cardoso
Associate, Kang Haggerty LLC
Employment litigation, including retaliation and wrongful termination.
Nicholas J. Cardoso is an associate at Kang Haggerty who litigates employment and business disputes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania state and federal courts. His employment practice covers discrimination, retaliation and wage and hour claims, which is the body of law a whistleblower relies on when an employer responds to a report by firing or demoting them.
Nicholas J. Cardoso joined Kang Haggerty LLC in March 2026 as an associate. He maintains a broad litigation practice with a primary focus on business disputes and employment law, and he appears in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania state and federal courts. He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2022 and from The College of New Jersey in 2019, where he read criminology and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
His employment work covers claims involving discrimination, retaliation and wage and hour violations. Retaliation is the point at which employment law meets the False Claims Act. Section 3730(h) gives an employee who is discharged, demoted, suspended, harassed or otherwise discriminated against for lawful acts taken to stop a violation the right to reinstatement, two times back pay with interest, and compensation for special damages. Those claims are litigated on employment law principles, and they frequently arrive alongside a qui tam complaint rather than instead of one.
He represents clients on both the plaintiff and the defense side. Before joining Kang Haggerty he practiced at an Am Law 200 firm, where the work was defense side. Counsel who has argued the employer’s position knows which facts an employer will reach for first, and that is useful when the question is whether a termination three weeks after an internal complaint will read as retaliation or as coincidence.
He has obtained multiple rulings on preliminary objections in Pennsylvania, including one that eliminated all direct claims against his client, and he maintains an active federal practice as a member of the John C. Lifland Federal Inn of Court. He was admitted in New Jersey in 2022 and in Pennsylvania in 2024, and has been a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association since 2024.
Where the practice concentrates
- Employment law, including discrimination, retaliation and wage and hour claims
- Business torts, including fraud and tortious interference
- Restrictive covenants, noncompetes and trade secrets
Outside practice
He has represented an indigent client at a parole revocation hearing through the firm’s pro bono program. Outside the office he plays flag football, watches films and travels.
Education
- J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 2022
- B.A. Criminology, The College of New Jersey, 2019, Phi Beta Kappa
Admitted to practice
- New Jersey, 2022
- Pennsylvania, 2024
Professional memberships
- Philadelphia Bar Association, member since 2024
- John C. Lifland Federal Inn of Court
Full firm biography: Nicholas J. Cardoso at Kang Haggerty LLC
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